This invention relates to electrical insulators, and more specifically relates to a novel conductive cement connecting hardware to an insulator shell where the shell has a semiconducting surface which is to be electrically connected to the hardware.
Electrical insulators, such as suspension insulators, which may be used individually or in strings to support electrical conductors from a support structure, generally consist of two conductive hardware members fastened by a cement to opposite surfaces of a suitably contoured insulator shell. The adjacent metal and insulator surfaces may be coated with a tar layer which preferably will be conductive when using the cement of the invention. A semiconducting glaze can be applied to the insulator shell surface to improve its performance especially in adverse environments. When the semiconducting glaze is used, the necessary electrical connection between the metal hardware and the semiconductive glaze is presently provided by a layer of metal which is sprayed over the normally nonconductive cement and tar layers.